Deep well pump



Feb. 7, 1939.

H. D. co| L |Ns A DEER WELL PUMP Filed Feb. 14, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 @komm/1,0,

H. D. COLLINS DEEP WELL PUMP 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb.,1'4, 1958 Feb. 17,1. 1939. H. D. COLLINS 2,146,328

DEEP WELL PUMP Filed Feb. 14, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l l m mem/bof l. '-I H2 a Oum/mu `als Patented Feb. .7, 1939 j UNITED STATES PATENT orrlca :,usszsf naar wsu. Pour.

Hubert D. comm, Tulsa. x1. Application February 14, 193s, serial No. 190,482 y '1 claims' (ci. 10a- 221) r The present invention relates to improvements in pumps, particularly those designed for use in sub-surface oil and water wells, and has for its primary purposev the prevention of what .are

known in oil field parlance as gas-lock and fluid-.,

pressure as the iluid above the traveling valve.

If the compression-pressure of the iiuidsv below the plunger happens to be less that that of the.

static pressure above the plunger, its valve will ing is huid-pounding caused by theI lack of sufcient fluid in the well to illl the space below the traveling valve or plunger in the working barrel on theup-stroke. When this space is not completely iilled onthe up-stroke, the plungerfalls o liquid before the valvein the plunger can open and causing the 'rods to buckle, thus throwing an extremely heavy. load on the tubing with each down-stroke i theplunger. While this difficulty can be remedied to a'certain degree by changing the speed and stroke of the plunger, in most below the same at the proper time--that' is, at the extreme' upstroke. While a portion of the plunger stroke may be sacrificed by the employ- 5o ment of this by-pass arrangement, this is of small consequence compared to the saving that `results from smootherrod and tubing operations in .plunger wear and breakage of valves. A furtherv object of my invention is the pro- `vision of a valve-controlled by-pass so arranged above stated is compressed to the same staticv fail to open anda gas-lock condition of the valves results, preventing the transfer of uid through cases close adjustments for this purpose cannot pound, by the provision of means for by-passingthe liquid above the plunger tothe unlledspace in relation to the travel of the plunger that said plunger will displace and open theby-pass valve to permit by-passlng of the upper uids to the space below the plunger to break the gas-look condition and prevent fluid-pound. 5 Other and further objects and advantages of Vvthe invention will be hereinafter set forth and the novel features thereof defined by the appended claims.

In the drawings: i

Figs. 1 and 2 are vertical sectional views of a portion of a pump embodying my invention and showing the traveling valve or plunger at the bottom and top, respectively, of its suction stroke;

Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views of a modification 15 of the invention; and

Fig.5 is a vertical sectional view of a further rnodiilcation of my invention.

Like reference characters designate corre-- sponding parts in the several iigures of the draw- 2 ings.

Referring to the drawings, I designates the I pump tubing leading to the casing packer (not shown) and 2 the working barrel at the base of which is arranged the standing valve 3. The 25 traveling valve 4 is connected to the usual sucker rods by the valve rod 5.

It will be noted that in the present construction the working barrel is provided preferably. with a by-pass 6 at opposite sides thereof in the 30 upper entrances of which are located ball valves 1, so arranged that when they are seated to close 4back in the partially filled space, striking the thevby-passes-they partially project from the interior wall at the top of the stroke 'of the traveling valve. Thus when the said valve israised in the pumping operation to its uppermost position as shown in Fig. 2, the valve contacts with the ball valves to unseat them and open the bypasses so as tol establish communicationbetween the upper chamber A and thevlower chamber B. 40

The construction and4 arrangement above described is a simple and economic one Yfor carrying out the highly important purposes o f my invention, but it may be modied, at least as to its valve', control, as shown lin Figs.y 3 and 4. In' 45 this latter construction, IE substitute a .sliding valve l for the ball valves 1. The sliding valve' is in the form of a sleeve and is so arranged as to normally vstand upon a shoulder I so as to extend over the upper entrances to the by-passes i. 50

The operation of the pump will be clear from the foregoing description, but it may be desirable to note that when gaseous fluids or low iluid wells are being pumped they generally produce a sumcient amount of iluldsto' nil the space A above Il the by-passes, thus creating in the tubing a high pressure before the gas-lock condition as hereinbefore referred to occurs. As the traveling valve reaches its extreme up-stroke position, the bypass valves are opened and the pressure is released to force the fluids from space A to space B, thus creating the proper con-dition to break the gas-lock and prevent duid-pound.

Not only is this diiculty overcome, but the provision of the by-pass creates a condition that will permit greater vacuum to be pulled by the traveling valve through the standing valve, due to the filling of chamber B with iluid. This arrangement is much preferable to that in which the traveling valve passes the ports or openings in the conventional pumps. The accumulation of sand and scale around the traveling valve 1s prevented and the openings through the pump tube wall can be bored at the proper distance to suit the individual requirements o1' the pump and pumping conditions.

Referring to Figure 5, the by-pass entrance is located above the working barrel and instead of the pump plunger operating the by-pass valves directly, a special camming sleeve coupling is interposed in the sucker rod for this purpose.

`The reference numeral 8 indicates a working barrel to the lower end of which is threaded a lower by-pass coupling 9. A tubing anchor I is threaded into the lower end of the coupling and carries the usual standing valve I I. By-pass passages IZ, I2 communicate with the interior of the tubing just below the working barrel and extend upwardly, as shown in the drawings,` to any suitable location in the pump tubing I3, at which point the upper by-pass coupling I4 is interposed.

This coupling is provided with by-pass ball valves I 5 for normally closing the'by-pass passages I2.

A by-Dass valve operating camming sleeve I 6 is interposed in the sucker rod string I'I at the proper location so that, as the pump plunger I8 reaches the limit of its pumping stroke, the camming sleeve I6 moves the ball valves I5 oil of their seats, permitting the fluid being pumped, due to its static head in the well tubing above the plunger, to enter the by-pass passages I 2 and move downwardly into the tubing below the working barrel. This flow of duid will displace any gas accumulation in the working barrel through the pump plunger valve I9.

While I have shown separate tubular by-pass conduits I2 extending between the upper by-pass coupling I4 and the lower by-pass coupling 9, it

should be understood that a single concentric tubular sleeve could be used surrounding the working barrel and that portion of the well tubing below the upper by-pass coupling I4 and suitably secured to the upper and lower by-pass couplings.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new vand desire to secure by Letters 4Patent i8:

1. In deep well pumps of the class described, a working barrel, a standing valve below the same, a traveling valve operable in said working barrel,

said barrel being formed with an exterior bypass passage having spaced upper and lower entrance ports opening into the interior of the barrel, its upper entrance to the barrel being above the limit of the upstroke of the traveling valve and its lower entrance to the barrel below the cxtreme up stroke, so as to equalize the pressures in the tubing above the working barrel and the space below said valve and by-pass the uids around said valve during the pumping operation, whereby to prevent gas-lock and fluid-pound conditions, and valve means controlling the by-pass passage operable by said traveling valve.

2. A pump as set forth in claim 1, wherein the by-pass valve means is arranged in the path of movement of the traveling valve to be actuated thereby. A v

3. A pump as set forth in claim 1, wherein the by-pass is provided with a ball valve arranged to be actuated by the traveling valve as it reaches its extreme up-stroke position.

4. A pump as set forth in claim l, wherein a sleeve valve is slidably arranged in the working barrel normally over the upper by-pass opening, said valve being shiftable by the traveling valve at the extreme up-stroke thereof to establish communication between the pump tubing above the barrel and the space below the traveling valve.

5. A pump as set forth in claim l, combined with valve means for said by-pass arranged in the path of movement of the traveling valve in the barrel and normally closing the by-pass. said valve means being operable by said traveling valve as it reaches the extreme up-stroke position, whereby to by-pass the fluids above the working Abarrel into the barrel below the traveling valve.

6. In a deep well pump of the class described, a working barrel, a standing valve below the same, a traveling valve operable in said working barrel, a pump tubing connected with said working barrel, valved by-pass means in the length of said tubing above the working barrel, including a bypass conduit extending downwardly and connecting with the interior of the pump below the working barrel, a sucker rod for operating said traveling valve, and by-pass valve actuating means on said sucker rod for actuating said valved by-pass means during the operation of said traveling valve.

7. In a deep well' pump cf the class described, a working barrel, a standing valve below the same, a traveling Valve operable in said working barrel, a pump tubing connected with said working barrel, valved by-pass means in the length of said tubing above the working barrel, including a bypass conduit extending downwardly and connecting with the interior of the pump below the working barrel, a sucker rod for operating said travellng valve, and by-pass valve actuating means on said sucker rod for actuating said valved by-'pass means at the termination of thel stroke of the traveling valve.

HUBERT D. COLLINS. 

